Türkıye Hakkında

Denizli

Situated in the inner part of the Aegean Region, is Denizli, a tourist attraction city with its numerous beauty.

Dating back to the Calcholithic age, this was the site of a settlement of the earliest communities, and changed hands continuously, becoming the center of various civilizations in different time periods.

The ancient city of Laodikeia is here, with its ruins awaiting for the sightseers in addition to Triopolis which was known as the center of bishops, while Christianity spread. Laodikeia was one of the Seven Churches mentioned in the book of Revelations. The city is still the subject of excavations.

Hierapolis is another ancient city, being a historical treasure, while it also offers a real wonder of nature. Named as "Pamukkale" (meaning Cotton Castle in Turkish) this place is astonishingly beautiful, and unique in the world with its white travertine offering marvelous scenery.

The wide forests and numerous picnicking and camping areas here contribute to this natural and archaeological richness, while its position as a stopover between the major provinces like Izmir, Ankara and Antalya, increases the tourist attraction of Denizli. The thermal resorts also attract visitors to the provinces with their spring waters of therapeutic effects; Gemezli, Cezmeli, Tekke and Kizildere are the main spa resorts, besides the thermal centers of Pamukkale and Karahayit.

"Denizli Rooster", the symbol of Denizli is a domestic species which is well known all over Turkey with its color and body building, harmonious long and beautiful crowing. According to some rumors, Berat roosters having long crowing were brought to Istanbul during Ottoman Empire from Albania and then brought to Denizli and crossbred with domestic local chicken and thus Denizli Rooster species were originated. Probabily this is not true because there are no similarities between the two species when compared in terms of color and body structure. Denizli rooster was probabily originated upon great care shown by the local people to long crowing rooster for centuries.

Denizli rooster's eyes are black and blackened with kohl. Its legs are dark grey or purple, its comb is in big axe comb, and atrium is red or white spots on red background; general color is black and dirty white together. Sometimes wing features have brown colors as well. Red roosters have black-white mixture. Their live weight is about 3-3.5 kgs (7 pounds). They are divided into 3 groups according to their colors, body building and comb types. According to their colors they are classified into 6 groups as: Demirkir (iron), Pamukkir (cotton), Kinali (henna), Al (red), Siyah (black) and Kurklu (with fur). According to their body shape they are divided into 3 types: Yuksek Boyun (high neck), Sulun (fasan) and Kupeli (with earings). According to their combs, they are divided into 2 types: Genis Ibik (big comb) and Dar Ibik (small comb).

The sound of Denizli roosters are classified according to the tone and clearness. According to sound tones they are divided into 3 groups: Ince (low), Davudi (bass), Kalin (high). Davudi voice is between high pitched and deep voice and is the only sound close to deep voice. According to clearness, they are divided into 4 groups: sad voice, shrill voice, wavy voice (funny voice).

Crowing of Denizli roosters is performed upon use of all abilities. Crowing is divided into 4 groups depending on body position during crowing, which are Lion crowing, Wolf crowing, Hero crowing, Pus crowing.

A good Denizli Rooster must have: alive appearance; long and strong legs and neck; wide and deep chest; sharp and sloped toward head tail. The same features are true for the chicken. The crowing period of Denizli Roosters in the first year must be 20 to 25 seconds.

Breeding roosters are selected under the control of Directorate of Province Agricultural Affairs and the rest are sold according to the demands made from various parts of the country between March - April, and sales of chicks are made between March - June.

As you approach the site of Pamukkale / Hierapolis from Denizli, (only 20 km) a long white smudge along the hills to the north suggests a landslide or open cast mine. Getting closer, this resolves into the edge of a plateau, more than 100m higher than the level of the river valley and absolutely smothered in white travertine terraces.

Pamukkale is one of the most extraordinary natural wonders in Turkey. Dozens of coaches daily make the long excursion, three hours drive from Bodrum, Marmaris or Kusadasi. Stay over-night if you can to enjoy its tranquillity early in the morning or in the evening. The big attraction is a vast white cliff side with scallop-shaped basins of water and frozen waterfalls. It looks as if it's made out of snow or cloud or balls of cotton.

The scientific explanation is that hot thermal springs pouring down the hillside deposit calcium carbonate, which solidifies as travertine. If you take off your shoes, you can gingerly roam the terraces or paddle in the pools. The Turks have dubbed this geological fairyland Pamukkale, or "cotton castle".

The entire territory of Pamukkale is at the center of particular attention on the part of the competent authorities who intend to safeguard the integrity and respect of this truly unique territory. Here, in a landscape fascinating in its own right, the action of various mineral springs which contain calcium oxides has left fantastic concretions on the travertine structures. The resulting effect is spectacular: these mineral-rich waters have dripped down over a series of terraced levels designing bizarre solidified cascades, dazzling in their radiance and changing their color according to how the sunlight strikes them.

From a distance this whitish mass stands in evident contrast with the color of the surrounding uplands and brings to mind enormous stretches of cotton. On approaching this incredible succession of terraces, one discovers the existence of basins full of mineral water which flow into other natural basins below, and are the source of stupendous mineral conglomerations in the form of fantastic stalactites, sometimes of considerable size gild resembling organ pipes.

The continuous dynamics of erosion and transformation of the natural landscape has resulted in an ambiance unequaled elsewhere and which constitutes one of the most unique phenomena to be found in nature.

Nevsehir

Hotels and Pansiyons are plentiful here but the size of the place makes it
a little tricky to get around without your own transport. It's useful to
know that you can find services here that aren't available in the wilds of
the interior but with any luck you won't need them.

It does have a decent archaeological
and ethnographical museum with Byzantine, Hittite, Roman and Ottoman
artifacts and a couple of interesting mosques that are worth a visit if you
are here for the day.

On March 29th, 2006, Total Solar Eclipse was seen in Nevsehir as well at
14:02pm local time.

Göreme has, to some extent, become the focus of the Cappadocian tourist
industry. It's proximity to the Open Air Museum, Zelve and other bits and
pieces of fairy chimney charm, coupled with it's downright cheapness has
been drawing people from all over the world for the last 20 years or
so.

Basic accommodation and supplies are here in volume as a result of the
rapid response to the areas tourist potential and Göreme is a favorite
amongst budget travelers, many of whom stay a while, sometimes finding work
in the tourist industry themselves.

Central location and cheapness apart you may not feel there's much to
distinguish Göreme from it's neighbors. It is, perhaps, less organized and
a little bit more laid back than Ürgüp or Avanos and it's probably livelier
than either in the season. If you're looking for somewhere to hang out for
a while, meet people and maybe blend in a little then Göreme is probably
the place for you.

This is the one place that
everybody who comes through Cappadocia goes. It's a nicely packaged instant
version of what the whole area has to offer and it's a good place to
start.
The open air museum is about 2 km from the town of Göreme itself and you
can comfortably walk it. Walking in Cappadocia is usually fun anyway. As
you approach you'll pass the bus park on your right, complete with its row
of souvenir shops, and on your left the buckle church (Tokali kilise), one
of the finest examples of frescoes in the area. Entrance is included when
you buy your ticket at the main gate so you'll probably end up visiting it
on the way out of the museum. Try not to forget it.

It is impossible to give details of all the churches and rooms in the
valley here as you could easily spend half a day wondering about and
looking at them all. Basically what you'll find is the remains of a
monastic community who made their home in this valley. Most people are
struck by the frescoes and the quality of these varies from excellent to
very tatty. Keep an eye open for the strange symbolic decorations in some
of the smaller churches and chapels. Bear in mind when buying your ticket
that the Karanlik church (recently restored and with the freshest frescoes)
is not included in the price and will cost you extra.

Over the last 2 years or so an extensive protection program has been
put into place. The churches are very prone to erosion and to prevent
this they are slowly being covered with a resilient artificial surface
designed to halt their gradual destruction by nature. This looks kind
of weird at first glance but it makes sense.

The frescoes that many tourists come to see can be divided up into
Pre and Post-Iconoclastic. The earlier works rely entirely on symbolism
to communicate their messages and may look childish and simple in
comparison to later works. Their form is a result of the early church's
disapproval of the portrayal of the human form in religious art. The
works which postdate the resolution of the Iconoclastic controversy
(mid 9th Century - see Ecumenical Councils) are much more figurative.
It is interesting to compare them and realize that both styles are
telling the same stories of Christ and the Saints.

Avanos is set on the banks of the Kizilirmak, the Red River,
which gets its name from the clay that it deposits. This clay has
provided Avanos with pottery for centuries and the town is still
dominated by this industry despite the inroads that tourism has made in
the area. The main street has numerous shops and workshops selling
plain and decorated pots and plates and you can watch the potters at
work using kick wheels, the design of which has remained unchanged for
generations. Many of the workshops will encourage you to have a go
yourself. It's harder than it looks.

Avanos is a possible base for exploring Cappadocia with accommodation
and services available at reasonable rates. The town has retained some
of its charm and is a pleasant place to spend half a day or to stop for
lunch. The town has a tourist targeted Hammam (Turkish bath) which is
popular with tour groups and is also close to the Selcuk built Yellow
Caravanserai, a restored Han (travelers 'service station'), and the
Özkonak Underground city, a smaller version of those at Derinkuyu and
Kaymakli.

If you're not looking for a party Uçhisar makes an excellent base
from which to explore the unique Cappadocian landscape. It's a sleepy
little town, less dominated by the tourist trade than Göreme or Avanos
and with an atmosphere that can fool you into thinking you're in Turkey
in the late 70's rather than the late 90's.

There are some pleasant mid-range and cheap hotels and pensions here
and food is acceptable at several establishments. Uçhisar's Kale or
fortress is visible for miles around and has become the town's major
tourist attraction, offering, as it does, fine views over the
surrounding countryside.

Uçhisar is also a good place to begin a walking tour from because
it's down hill in every direction and because you can take in Pigeon
Valley, named for it's myriad nesting holes carved to encourage said
birds.

Ortahisar, meaning middle fortress in Turkish, is 6 km from Ürgüp and
about 10 km from Nevsehir city center. The village is at 1200 meters
above sea level with about 4,000 inhabitants, and its name is coming
from a massive 90 meter high rock, similar to Uçhisar. This rock was
used for many centuries since the Hittite period as a castle to protect
local inhabitants from invaders and to scout the region. There are many
rooms and tunnels inside, and the top is accessible by a staircase.
Once you get on top, there is a breathtaking view of Cappadocia and the
Erciyes mountain at the background. Carved tuff rooms around the
village are used as a natural cool depot to store citrus, apple,
potatoes etc. The village is surrounded by vineyards as well.

Besides this castle-rock, there are several churches in and around
Ortahisar from early Christians; Sarica church, Kepez church, Pancarlik
church, Tavsanli church, Cambazli church, Balkan stream church, Hallac
dere hospital and monastic complex, and Uzumlu church in Kuzulcukur
area. These are all Turkish names given by the local people, not their
original names.

There is a private Ethnography museum in Ortahisar, recently opened
in 2004 and showing examples from the daily village life, agriculture,
kitchen, carpet weaving, Hammam, Henna night and marriage. It also has
a cafeteria and a restaurant to relax and enjoy the local food.

The unfortunately named Ürgüp is probably the busiest of the small
towns in the vicinity of the Cappadocian sites. It's possibly the
tastiest as well, recent development has mushroomed leaving a grim
legacy of poorly designed and serviced buildings. The road down into
the town however does take you past some pleasant rock carved
dwellings, accommodation and restaurants. It's worth wondering around
the old town for a taste of what the place must have been like before
we all arrived.

This said it does offer services, such as banking, which are a
little scarce elsewhere. It has a scattering of hotels and pensions of
varying degrees of sophistication and a couple of good places to eat.
The town has also a certain night life with small bars and discos.

A strong contender for favorite place status, the Zelve monastery
complex is situated about 10 km out from Göreme on the Avanos road.
Lacking the elaborate frescoes of Göreme and other sites there's still
plenty here to see. The series of valleys can provide you with a couple
of hours walking, climbing and crawling about and in addition to the
marked highlights (the Fish and Grape churches) there are innumerable
rooms and passages to look at.

Zelve was inhabited until quite recently but you can almost see the
place crumbling before your very eyes. There's probably an element of
risk involved in exploring too enthusiastically but a guide should be
able to balance the thrill of stumbling through pitch black tunnels by
torchlight with an element of safety.

It's probably a good idea to make the most of the place while
there's still something to see. There seems little chance of a
restoration scheme along the lines of that in place at Göreme and even
if tourists were to stop visiting today natural erosion processes do
their damage every winter.

The Ihlara valley is very nice. Removed a little from the rest of
the Cappadocian sites it can be a little tricky to get to but it's
worth a full day if you can spare one. The gorge is 16 km long and both
sides are lined with rock carved churches, about 100 in all. You can
look at the more important of these in a couple of hours but it's very
pleasant to spend an afternoon following the river down the valley and
exploring on your own.

The climb down to and especially up from the gorge can be demanding
and probably shouldn't be attempted if you're feeling frail. To make
the most of your time here a full day and a picnic is a good idea and
will repay the effort in terms of a relaxed days pottering about
admiring the churches and the valley's beautiful scenery.

The underground cities of Cappadocia are worthy of a visit. Let's
take Derinkuyu for example. The one time home of up to 20,000 people,
it's 8 levels descend into the Anatolian plateau 50 km south of Göreme.
Stop and think about that for a while. A large, market town sized
community digging a settlement out to guarantee themselves a degree of
protection.

There are 8 floors of tunnels but 4 of them are open to the visitors
and this is enough to give you an idea of the sensation of living in a
labyrinth like this. The ventilation shafts, circular and descending
from the surface to the lower levels, bring home the scale of the
enterprise while the massive circular doors - which were rolled across
the passages and sealed from the inside - remind you of the motivation
for moving underground in the first place.

Derinkuyu is by no means the only such city you can visit here.
There are actually 40 or so subterranean settlements in the area
although only a few are open to the public. Kaymakli, 10 kilometers to
the north of Derinkuyu, is smaller and less excavated but 4 levels are
accessible and the experience is pretty much the same. Not For The
Claustrophobic.

Mardin

The earliest settlers in Mardin were Syriac Orthodox Christians, arriving
in the 3rd century AD. In fact, most Syriac Orthodox churches and
monasteries in the city, which are still active today, date from the 5th
century AD, such as the Deyrülzafaran Monastery. Another important church,
Kırklar Kilisesi (Church of the 40 Martyrs)originally built in
the name of Benham and Saro, the two sons of the Assyrian ruler who
executed them because they chose to become Christian, dates from 569 AD.
Mardin remained a heavily Christian area during its control by Muslim Arabs
between the seventh and twelfth centuries, and even during its use as a
capital by the Artukid Turkish dynasty which ruled Eastern Anatolia and
Northern Mesopotamia between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The 12th
century Sitti Radviyye Madrasa, the oldest of its kind in Anatolia, dates
from this period. The lands of the Artukid dynasty fell to the Mongols who
took control of the region in 1394, but the Mongols never directly governed
the area. Mardin was later controlled by the Turkish Akkoyunlu
kingdom. The Kasımiye Madrasa was built by Sultan Kasım, son of the
Akkoyunlu Sultan Cihangir, between 1457 and 1502.

Mardin province was added to the Ottoman Empire under Selim I in
1517, and has remained a part of Turkey ever since. In 1832 the city was
the site of a Kurdish rebellion. The Assyrians also argue that Mardin was
one of the sites of the Assyrian Genocide.

Antalya

The wonders still stand there today, even in ruins, in its power to
amaze - though the excellency of iyd monuments, its spectacular
tombs and, above all, the awesome span of time through which its
greatness has survived. Its is God's work that country was rich in
art and accomplishment while Europe was in its Stone age, and also
to its life it was so gratifying that man asked better nothing but
eternity than to go living in a close replica of this fruitful
earth he loved.

They in fact engineered intricate irrgation systems, developed
mathematics, mined useful and precious ores, traded with lands over
sea, perfected the techniques of administration and government.
Perhaps you have heard about the enchantments of this miracle land
though some epochs told by the visitors of Antalya. You will see
that it is really no exaggeration in telling and applauding this
truth wherever you enter into the City. On both sides of the
streets datetrees soar up into the sky, and in the middle of the
streets water flows in canals in a never-failing continuity and
serenity. Those are the first vivid specialities that will welcome
you.

It has a large and radiant Park embellished with motley-kind
of flowers and trees. Its south is the sea, and the cliffs are
often rocky and sleep, and they form a ntural border in the height
of 50 or 60 meters in the south of the City, and those cliffs
stretch along the shore 10 or 12 kilometres long. Rivers and
streams, the sources of which are actually in the Taurus Mountains,
pour down in thunder over the cataracts on its way into the sea
along this coast. Another wonder for the visitors who won't really
be albe to see any other similar to this! The water comes down over
the cliffs in such a way that million of water-dews in atoms look
like a misty dust embracing the gloomy sea.

About Antalya 'Lara, Karpuzkaldiran, Mermerli' Beaches
near the Park, and 'Adalar , Konyaalti' Beaches in the east are
some that can provide good-bathing for the vacationers. After
'Konyaalti Beach' towards the west. 'Arapsuyu Beach , is another
one which was turned to be mocamps by the Antalya Tourism and
information Society.

Whenever the vacationer visits Denizli
(Hierapolis) . Konya and Adana they are bound to call
at Antalya. Because those cities are so near to Antalya. And also
you will find priceless treasures of the historical masterpieces as
well as the two sophistications mentioned above such an
incomparable treasure that you will ask yourself in a moment and
try to give an answer to how even one huge stone, in tons, of the
facade of the theatre of Perge had been hauled up 20 or 25 metres
high by the use of levers, ropes and manpower only; and further why
and for whom the theatre in Side had been constructed so large; and
then today why no human beings live except birds in Termossos which
once had a population of 150.000 and which Alexander the Great
hadn't been able to conquer.

Bodrum

Not far from town, you can swim in absolutely clear, tideless, warm seas.
Underwater divers, especially, will want to explore the numerous reefs,
caves and majestic rock formations. The waters offer up multicolored
sponges of all shapes and sizes, octopi and an immense variety of other
aquatic life.

Not far from town, you can swim in absolutely clear, tideless, warm seas.
Underwater divers, especially, will want to explore the numerous reefs,
caves and majestic rock formations. The waters offer up multicolored
sponges of all shapes and sizes, octopi and an immense variety of other
aquatic life.

The reputation of Bodrum's boatyards dates back to ancient times,
and today, craftsmen still build the traditional yachts: the Tirhandil with
a pointed bow and stern, and the Gullets with a broad beam and rounded
stern. The latter, especially, are used on excursions and pleasure trips,
and in the annual October Cup Race.

Bodrum has gained the reputation as the center of the Turkish art community
with its lively, friendly and Bohemian atmosphere and many small galleries.
This community has encouraged an informal day-time life style and a
night-time of excitement. The evenings in Bodrum are for sitting idly in
one of the many restaurants, dining on fresh seafood and other Aegean
specialties. Afterwards night clubs (some with cabaret) and superb discos
keep you going until dawn.

Bodrum, known in the ancient times as Halicarnassus which was the
capital of Caria, was the birthplace of Herodotus and the site of King
Mausolous' Tomb (4th century B.C.), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World. In the harbor, the Bodrum Castle, or the medieval castle of St.
Peter, is a fine example of 15th century crusader architecture, and has
been converted into the Museum of Underwater Archeology, with remains
dating as far back as the Bronze Age. The stunning panoramic view from
Goktepe, nearby, is much photographed by visitors to the Museums' 2nd
century theater.

The beautiful Bodrum Peninsula suits holidaymakers interested in a
subdued and relaxing atmosphere. Enchanting villages, with guest-houses and
small hotels on quiet bays, dot the peninsula. On the southern coast,
Bardakci, Gümbet, Bitez, Ortakent, Karaincir, Bagla and Akyarlar have fine,
sandy beaches. Campers and wind-surfers enjoy Gümbet, and at Bitez colorful
sail boards weave skillfully among the masts of yachts in the bay. On shore
you can enjoy quiet walks through the orange and tangerine groves bordering
the beach. Ortakent has one of the longest stretches of sandy beach in the
area and offers an ideal place for relaxing in solitude. One of the most
beautiful beaches on the Bodrum peninsula, Karaincir, is ideal for lively
active days by the sea and relaxed, leisurely evenings with local
villagers. Finally, Akyarlar enjoys a well-deserved reputation for the
fine, powdery sand of its beach, it's also considered as one of the best
beaches in the world. Turgutreis, Gumusluk and Yalikavak, all with
excellent beaches, lie on the western side of the peninsula and are ideal
for swimming, sunbathing and water sports.

In Turgutreis, the birthplace of a great Turkish Ottoman admiral of the
same name, you will find a monument honoring him. In the ancient port of
Myndos, Gümüslük, you can easily make many friends with the hospitable and
out-going local population. In Yalikavak white-washed houses with cascading
Bougainville line narrow streets. Small cafes and the occasional windmill
create a picturesque setting.

See the north coast of the peninsula - Torba, Türkbükü, Gölköy and Gündogan
- by road or, even better, hire a boat and crew to explore the quiet coves,
citrus groves and wooded islands. Little windmills which still provide the
energy to grind grain crown hills covered with olive trees. Torba, a modern
village with holiday villas and a nice marina is located 8 km north of
Bodrum. Gölköy and Türkbükü are small and simple fishing villages with a
handful of taverns overlooking a lovely bay. After a boat trip to Karaada,
half an hour from Bodrum, you can bathe in the grotto where the warm
mineral waters flowing out of the rocks are believed to beautify the
complexion.

The
translucent and deep waters of the Gulf of Gökova, on the southern shore of
the Bodrum peninsula vary from the darkest blue to the palest turquoise,
and the coastline is thickly wooded with every hue of green. In the
evening, the sea reflects the mountains silhouetted against the setting
sun, and at night it shimmers with phosphorescence. You can take a yacht
tour or hire a boat from Bodrum for a two, three or seven day tour of the
gulf.

Also Milas town and Labranda, some 65 kms from Bodrum, are places of
interest for archaeology lovers.

One of the world's finest museums of underwater archeology housed in a
superb 15th century castle built by the Knights of St. John of Rhodes. The
world's oldest known shipwreck exhibition is now open. This star attraction
rates a 'must see' on everyone's list.

The Mausoleum of Halikarnassus was one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. Its site is on open-air museum visited with
awe for the accomplishments of the ancients. Its monumental statuary is in
the British Museum but some artifacts and replicas of its friezes can be
seen on the site.

This western city gate built by Mausolus in 364 B.C. has been recently
restored. Composed of four towers it stood against Alexander the Great and
his Macedonian troops. Surviving portions of the city wall are under
restoration.

İzmir

The continuous excavations on the Bayrakli ridges
by Prof. Dr. Ekrem Akurgal since 1959, the discovery of the Zeus
Altar by the German archaeologist Carl Humman in Pergamon (Bergama)
between 1866 and 1878, the discovery of the Artemis Temple in 1869
by the British Wood and the continuous excavations by Austrian
archaeologists at certain intervals of the city of ancient Ephesus
since 1904. Also many researchers in different universities are
still investigating on the city’s historical development.

Many legends are known about the derivation of the name of
Izmir. According to the knowledge acquired from scientific
studies the word "IZMIR" came from Smyrna in the ancient Ionian
dialect and it was written as Smyrna in the Attican (around
Athens) dialect. The word Smyrna was not Greek, it came from
Anatolian root like many other names in the Aegean Region from
the texts belonging to 2000 B.C. in the Kültepe settlement in
Kayseri, a place called Tismyrna was come across and the (Ti)
at the beginning was omitted and the city was pronounced as
Smyrna. So the city was called Smyrna the early years of 3000
B.C. or late 1800 B.C. In the Turkish era the city was called
Izmir.

In the years of 3000 B.C.
Western Anatolia was under a rich Trojan civilization
influence. The settlement areas built on the Aegean coast also
developed generally under the Trojan influence. The Hittites
which Homer wrote about in the Iliad, were an active force and
civilization in the Anatolian mountain pastures because the
Trojans were allies of the Hittites and they had a big
influence on the Aegean settlements. As a matter of fact Pitane
(Çandarli) in the Bakirçay River basin and similar settlements
were built by the Hittites. It is believed that the Amazons
lived in the area between Caria and the Lydia which today is
the sides of the Yamanlar Mountains, and they carried on their
existence until the arrival of the Aiolos and the Ions.

The Aiolos and the Ions who Fled from the Doric
invasion around 1000 B.C., came from Greece and settled in Izmir
and its surroundings. The important Aeol and Ionian settlements are
as follows: Bergama (Pergamon), Manisa (Magnesia), Izmir (Smyrna),
Urla (Klazomenai, near Cesme), Kemalpasa (Nimphaion), Cesme-Ildiri
(Erythrai), Sigacik (Teos), Phokaia, Selcuk (Ephesus).

Until the 7th century B.C. Izmir got richer because of its
trade with its neighbors especially Lydia. Its good neighbor
relationships with Lydia lasted until the Lydians were
conquered by the Persians. The Persian sovereignty ended with
Alexander the Great's arrival to Anatolia in 334 B.C. In these
years, in which the Hellenistic period began, a new settlement
was formed around Kadifekale (Mount Pagos) and its city walls
belong to the Hellenistic period and have undergone many
restorations in the following periods.

The city, which was tied to the Pergamon Empire in 197 B.C.,
passed into the control of the Roman Empire after a short
period between 27 B.C. and 324 A.D. Roman control transformed
Izmir into an important trade and harbor city. For the west,
Izmir was seen as the center of Asia. In this period the Agora,
Acropolis, Theater, Stadium, and constructions that did not
remain up to now, like the libraries and the fountains, were
built during this period.

The two roads stretching from Kadifekale (Mt. Pagos) to Ephesus
and Sardis were built during the Roman period. In 324 A.D.
after the Roman Empire was divided into two, Izmir had been
taken by the Byzantine Empire and Ephesus especially was an
important cultural and religious center in the classic
Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. An important
development was not seen during the Byzantine period.

Even though Izmir came into the possession of the Hun
Emperor Attila, this authority did not last long and the
city re-taken the Byzantines.

Kutalmisoglu Suleyman Shah
in 1076 was the first conqueror of Izmir by the Seljuk
Turks. In the period that the famous sea admiral Çaka Bey
was appointed as the mayor of Izmir; Urla, Foça and the
Islands of Sakiz (Chios), Samos and Istanköy (Cos) were
conquered. After Çaka Bey’s death the city and its
surroundings passed into the possession of the Byzantines
in 1098. Then Izmir was taken by the knights at the time
that Istanbul was invaded by the Crusaders. In 1320 the
Turkish sailor Umur Bey returned Izmir from the Catholic
knights and added it to the Turkish land.

In the period of the principalities, Izmir and its
nearby surrounding were under the reign of the
Saruhanogullari principality. Pergamon (Bergama) and its
surroundings were tied to Karesiogullari principality. The
reign of Izmir and its surroundings passed into the Ottoman
hands completely in 1426.

The following Turkish architectural constructions are
distinguished examples of the Turkish culture built during
the Ottoman period, they have adorned Izmir for centuries:
The Hisar Mosque, The Sadirvan Mosque, the Hatuniye Mosque,
the Konak Yali Mosque, the Kemeralti Mosque, the Kestane
Bazaar Mosque, the Izmir Clock Tower, the Kizlaragasi Han
(Inn - commercial building), the Mirkelamoglu and Cakaloglu
Inns and other inns (trade places for spending the night),
Bedesten (Ottoman’s special trade constructions).

Beginning with the 16th century Izmir had an important
place in the world trade. There was an increase in the
consulates of foreign countries especially due to the
capitulations that the Ottoman government provided for
Europe. It is known that these consulates participated in
the trade activities and each anchored their ships in the
bay.

Historical Sites and Monuments in Izmir A
castle was built on the narrowest point of the bay to check
the ships entering and leaving the Izmir Gulf. New
constructions were built in the second half of the century
to help developing of the city’s trade. Among these
constructions, the most important examples are the customs
building in the 19th century, the sectors of packing,
insurance, stock and banking.

In the years of the struggle of Liberation, Izmir underwent
a great wreckage with huge destructions and fires. With the
driving away of the Greek army by the leadership of the
great leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on September 9th 1922,
Izmir started to become a modern city of the young Turkish
Republic and developed this character more everyday.

Ankara

It is bordered by the provinces of Cankiri and Bolu to the north, Eskisehir
to the west, Konya and Aksaray to the south, and Kirikkale and Kirsehir to
the east. The region's history goes back to the Bronze Age; Hatti
Civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites,
then the Phrygians (10th century BC); Lydians and Persians followed. After
these came the Galatians, a Celtic race who were the first to make Ankara
their capital (3rd century BC). It was then known as Ancyra, meaning
anchor. The town subsequently fell to the Romans, Byzantines, and Selcuks
under ruler Alparslan in 1073, and then to the Ottomans under sultan
Yildirim Beyazit in 1402, who remained in control until the First World
War.

The
town, once an important trading center on the caravan route to the east,
had declined in importance by the nineteenth century. It became an
important center again when Kemal Ataturk chose it as the base from which
to direct the War of Liberation. In consequence of its role in the war and
its strategic position, it was declared the capital of the new Turkish
Republic on the 13th October,1923.

Located in an imposing position in the Anittepe quarter of the city
stands the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.
Completed in 1953, it is an impressive fusion of ancient and modern
architectural ideas and remains unsurpassed as an accomplishment of modern
Turkish architecture. There is a museum housing writings, letters and items
belonging to Ataturk as well as an exhibition of photographs recording
important moments in his life and the establishment of the republic. An
important exhibition of the War of Liberation is also open to the public.
(Anitkabir and the museum is open everyday, except Mondays. During the
summer, there is a light and sound show in the evenings).

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

Close to the citadel gate, a 15th century Ottoman bedesten has been
beautifully restored and since 1921 it houses a marvelous and unique
collection including Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Hatti, Hittite,
Phrygian, Lydian, Urartian and Roman works. In 1997 this great museum won
the "European Museum of the Year" award among 65 museums from 21 European
countries. (Open everyday, except Monday. During the summer, the museum
opens everyday).

The Ethnographical Museum

Opposite the Opera House
on Talat Pasa Boulevard in Namazgah district is the Ethnographical Museum.
There is a fine collection of folkloric artifacts as well as fine items and
rugs from Seljuk and Ottoman mosques in this museum since 1930. When
Ataturk died in 1938, he was buried in the internal courtyard until the
construction of his Mausoleum in 1953. The bronze statue of Ataturk on the
horse in front of the museum was made in 1927 by an Italian artist P.
Canonica. (Open everyday, except Monday).

The foundations of the citadel were laid by the Galatians on a prominent
lava outcrop, and completed by the Romans; the Byzantines and Seljuks made
restorations and additions. The area around and inside the citadel is the
oldest part of Ankara and many fine examples of traditional architecture
can be seen within the citadel walls. There are also lovely green areas in
which to relax.

The Corinthian style temple can be found in the old Ulus district of the
city. It was built in the 1st century BC and only later dedicated to the
Emperor Augustus at the beginning of the 1st century AD. It is important
today for the 'Monument Ancyranum' or 'Res gestae Divi Augusti', the
testament and political achievements of Augustus that is inscribed on its
walls in both Latin and Greek. This inscription is the copy of the original
which was engraved on two bronze pillars and placed at the entrance of his
Mausoleum in Rome. The originals are lost but the copy engraved on the
Augusteum in Ankara still exists. In the fifth century the temple was
converted to a church.

The bath, situated on Cankiri Avenue in Ulus, has the typical features
of Roman baths: a frigidarium (cold section), tepidarium (cool section) and
caldarium (hot section). The hot and warm rooms were wider divisions
because of Ankara's very cold winter climate. They were built in the time
of the Emperor Caracalla (3rd century AD) in honor of the god of medicine,
Asclepios. The dimensions of the bath was 80x130 meters and it was made of
stones and bricks. Today only the basement and first floors remain.

This column, in Ulus, was erected in 362 AD probably to commemorate a
visit by the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate on his way to the campaign
against Persians. It stands fifteen meters high and has a typical leaf
decoration on the capital.

This mosque, in Ulus, next to the Temple of Augustus, was built in the
early 15th century and subsequently restored by Sinan in the l6th century
with Kutahya tiles being added in the 18th century. The mosque was built in
honor of Haci Bayram Veli whose tomb is next to the mosque.

This is Turkey's second industrial museum opened in April 2005 by Koc
family in a 500 year old building. Cengelhan was originally built in the
mid-16th century by Rustem Pasha, husband of Mihrimah Sultan and son-in-law
of Suleyman The Magnificent. This was a typical Anatolian caravanserai
offering lodging for travelers and also supplies for the tradesman. This
building opposite the Citadel is now converted into a museum preserving its
architectural characteristics in a new setting. Here, the story of early
industry is told through scale models since most of the full-size objects
are on exhibit at the Istanbul Rahmi Koc museum.

You can also enjoy its Brasserie in the museum courtyard, sitting
together with classic cars from 1900s.

İstanbul

Bosphorus Bridge:It was constructed between Ortakoy(Europe)Area and
Beylerbeyi Area(Asia).It's approximately 1.1(0.7 miles) kilometers
long and 63 m.(180 ft) high. It was constructed in 1973 .It's the
first necklace of the strait Bosphorus.

Fatih Sultan Mehmed Bridge:It takes its name from the
sultan called "Mehmed (the Conqueror)" who conquered Istanbul
(Constantinople) in 1453 from the Byzantine Empire... This bridge was
constructed in 1988.

Istanbul is a city of mosques and universities. There are over
8.000 small and big mosques which were constructed over the
centuries and still being constructed... It's a city of
universities and the first university was founded in the 15th
century with the order of Sultan Mehmed "the Conqueror":The
University of Istanbul. In today, there are about 16 private and
public universities in the city ,namely:

Byzantium quickly became a centre for trade and commerce, acquiring
wealth from its fisheries and the customs fee. It was dominated by
other city states, including the Persians and in 441-440 BC it
joined the Samos and other Greek cities in Asia Minor in a revolt
against Athenian Domination but they could not succeed...In 441,
during the Peleponesian War, Byzantium revolted once again against
Athens with Sparta after three years later, They were defeated in a
naval war in Hellespont (strait Dardanelles).In 403, the Athenians
were defeated and the famous Peleponesian Wars ended. After
alliances and fights between the Athenians and Byzantiums,
Macedonians, under the leadership of Alexander the Great in 334,
won the war of Granicus and gained the control of the
Byzantium.After the death of Alexander the Great, Byzantium was
captured by combined forces of Bithynia(today's Izmit town),
Pergamum and Rhodes. Then in 133, the last ruler gave his kingdom
to Rome and Byzantium became a part of the Province of Asia more
than 250 years...

In the 2C AD, Byzantium was swept up once again by civil war
between the Emperor Septimus Severus and his rival Percennus
Niger.After he defeated Niger, he took over and had the city
walls constucted. The walls begin at Golden Horn lying to
Galata Bridge and end at the lighthouse standing on the coastal
road to the airport today. He enlarged the city twice as it
was.

At the beginning of
the 4C AD, Byzantium played extremely important roles in
the events taking place in roman Empire. The struggle ended
with the victory of Constantine, the emperor of the West.
The Byzantium opened its gated to Constantine, the sole
ruler of the Roman Empire.From then on, he moved the
capital and put his name as "Constantinople". In 325, the
First Ecumenical(world-wide) Council of the Christian
Church was held in Nicaea. (today's Iznik town, famous for
its blue tiles in Blue Mosque). He favoured to accept the
Orthodox religious doctrine and toleration for the
Christians. Finally in 451 AD, at the Council of Chalcedon
(today's Kadikoy), the Byzantium Emperor became the head of
the church and the State and gained enormous power. The
religion of the Byzantium was Christianity(Orthodox
doctrine) from then on...

Another emperor, who had contributed to Byzantium
was Theodosius II who had a splendid new cathedral called the
"Haghia Sophia" the Divine Wisdom. It replaced a wooden basilica
church which had been constucted by Constantine. In the 6C, the
city was predominantly Christian...

Another age started in Byzantium with Justin I in 518 which is
accepted as the beginning of the imperial era. He was an
illiterate soldier and he had to rely on the advices of his
young, dynamic and well-educated nephew, Justinian. He slowly
climbed the stairs up as being a Consul, Caesar and co-emperor
in 527 AD which led the way up to the Imperial Throne...After
he became Emperor, he married to Theodora,an old dancer and
singer who turned to be a strong believer of Christianity. She
influenced Justinian and changed evertyhing suitable for a
fully-Christian Byzantium. She had all the Pagan Schools closed
and made the Christian tradition stronger.
In the year 532, Justinian was overthrown by a revolt in the
ancient Hippodrome, called "Nika Revolt" which caused many
buldings to collapse and badly damaged including the splendid
Haghia Sophia. He ordered a big and beautiful Greek Orthodox
Church to be constructed as well as the city to be restored.
During his reign, Constantinople was one of the biggest cities
in the world..

The history of the Byzantium may last pages and
pages. The history until today is going to be summarized by the
author so that it becomes clearer to understand and associate with
today's remainings.

Even though, no one could consider that such a big empire can
collapse, that eventually happened. There are various reasons for
that. Firstly, there were internal reasons. These were the
fightings between the high ranking officials or for the throne,
that is the conspiracy theories to mix the agenda and have
superiority over one another. Secondly, there were external
reasons. As the empired began loosing its territories in the West,
it continously started to defend its borders, so a passage from
offensive to defensive position... It was an empire based on lies,
conspiracy

theories, traps, deceipt and mass killings as well as lots of
assasinations. There were financial and economic reasons, the
public was angry at the Blachernia Palace for not being fair
about the distribution of the income.However, in my opinion,
the most noteworthy reason for the collapse of Byzantium was
the internal reasons, which tore down the balance of power in
the Empire...

After Latin Invasions and continuing internal problems, the
Empire could not realize the small Turkish Principality which
was located in the Southern East of Constantinople, on the
other end of Marmara Gulf, so-called the "Ottomans". They were
founded in 1299 in a small city Bursa, Sogut and their founder
was Osman Bey. His son Orhan Bey enlarged the Principality and
his son Murad, went on conquests in Europe, fought the War of
Varna. Afterwards Bayezid the Thunder fought many wars and
continued to knock the door of Europe. Finally in 1453,
21-year-old Mehmed II(the Conqueror),after years of preparation
period, succeeded to conquer the city and the first thing he
did was converting Haghia Sophia to a mosque and pray God and
prophet Muhammed for his victory...

From then on, the name "Constantinople" was converted to
"Istanbul" which is how it was called by the Ottomans. is
the name of the city and became a Muslim city. The Ottoman
Empire adopted the city as the major city and the center
for the government. Mehmed the Conqueror also ordered the
"Topkapi Palace"to be constructed and this palace
constituted the heart of the whole Empire which lasted more
than 600 years.

The Ottoman Empire reached its peak in the early 16C
when they conquered Egypt and had the caliphacy pass over
to the Ottomans. It meant that an Ottoman Sultan was to be
the highest ranking religious person in the Muslim World.
However,when the famous emperor, Suleiman the Magnificient,
failed in the Battle of Vienna, he was gone into
depression. He was a big leader and failure was not of his
style. His dreams of conquering Vienna and becoming
immortal could not come true and that was the beginning of
the end...The splendid Mosque of Suleiman in Istanbul is
from those days.

The Ottoman Empire went into a stagnation period in 1699,
the Treaty of Karlowitz.. Prior to that time, the empire
had continously enlarged its boundaries and was always
offensive. This treaty meant that the empire can no way be
offensive any longer...

That period was followed by a decline and end period. The
Ottoman Empire became the "Sick Man of Europe" to be
partitioned by the European Powers after the WW I. IN 1919,
a young and talented soldier, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, came
to the scene and Turkey started defending herself. He was
also the commander of Gallipoli Campaign which was fought
against ANZAC, British and French Troops in 1915. The
Independence War was successfully won by the Turks and then
came the revolutions in Alphabet, Dress, Meaurement Systems
and abolishment of the Sultanate as well as Caliph System.
Everything was replaced by its modern way which led the way
to Modern Turkey. Ataturk died in Istanbul, Dolmabahce
Palace; a rather modern palace dating back to 1856. He was
born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, Greece and died in 1938.
There were many more things to do when he left us...

Currently, Turkey is a Republic with a National Grand
Assembly, a Constitution, flag and national anthem. It is a
parliamentary system with 550 MPs, a president and a
PM.

Transportation in Istanbul is not as convinient as it is
in many big cities of the world. Because Istanbul is not
surrounded by a good subway network. Instead of metro,
other ways of transportation are used.

Bus: Public and private buses are very popular.
Those buses operate frequently to different destinations in
the city. The problem is that because of the busy traffic,
the time tables do not reflect the actual situation. You
may wait a bus for 15-20 or 30 minutes. The buses are of
three kinds. The first one is the blue-green buses which
are privately owned. You pay money to get on them. The fee
is 1.3 YTL) which is approximately. equal to 0.80 EUR or 1
USD. Foreign currency is NOT accepted. You can read the
name of the place you would like to go, on the sign on the
side window in the front. There is a person who will be
sitting in front of the bus and after you pay him, you
receive your ticket. People usually do not speak English,
so you would better learn your destination.

Example:TAKSIM 30B BESIKTAS. 30B is the route number.
TAKSIM and BESIKTAS are popular areas.

Second type of buses are the municipal buses which
you can see lots of ads on them or regular ones in
blue-green or blue- red. For these buses, you can either
buy a ticket before you get into the bus or you can pay the
fee to the driver. Close to the bus stops, you can come
across small ticket offices called "GISE" in Turkish.
Sometimes you can find tickets in little corner convinience
shops. A ticket costs 1.3 YTL) You can see people using a
ringing object as ticket. This is called "Akbil" which
means Smart-ticket. It's like phone-cards, you accumulate
them in the smart- ticket offices in
return for a certain amount and you just touch it to the
electronic device set on the bus. The amount is
automatically taken out from your account like Electron
Bank cards.This is not profitable for short-time visitors
because you also pay for the empty device. This buses
usually don't have air-con and are very crowded. There are
plenty of seats as well as plenty of room to stand in the
bus. You can read the destination of the bus on its front
and side window.

There's the last type of buses which are double-deckers.
They operate for longer distances and are more convinient.
You give double tickets for them. If they are green buses,
you can also pay cash instead of tickets. Don't worry, they
will warn you.....

There are municipal buses which cross the bridge and go
to the Asian side. If you plan to go to the Asian Side, you
also use double tickets or double fee. I recommend you to
try the ferries instead.

Ferry: The ferries in Istanbul operate from
different points in Istanbul including Eminonu, Besiktas,
Karakoy in European Side to Kadikoy, Bostanci, Uskudar and
Bosphorus. If you like to see the Asian Side, you can
simply take the ferry from Besiktas to Kadikoy every 30
minutes, 15 past and 15 to .It depends on where you plan to
take the ferry. The ferries are also old but nice and
convinient. The ferry operated by Dentur Avrasya has
shuttle rings from Besiktas to Uskudar every 10 minutes. It
costs 1 YTL. If you want to know about a Bosphorus Cruise,
find the "Bosphorus Cruise" section. For further info, you
can ask for a brochure from the ferry stations.

Minibus or Dolmush: Minibuses are small buses which do
not have a specific time table. They begin operating at
6:00 in the morning and they finish very late at night
about 1:00. . You pay cash to the driver and the fee
changes depending on the line. The driver drives, changes
your money, honks for new passengers and gives your change.
He does four things together and you watch as if you are on
the verge of having a heart-attack... It's still experience
and quite a fun thing. You can stand in a minibus if no
seats are left. When you want to get out, you simply yell
as "Musait bir yerde lutfen" meaning "Drop me at a proper
place please."

Dolmushes are slightly different. They usually
operate between Besiktas and Harbiye, Besiktas and
Taksim,Bostanci(Asia)and Taksim and Kadikoy(Asia)and Taksim
. You cannot stand in a dolmush. Whenever it's full, it
moves. Its fee is paid cash too. You can see the price
written in front of the dolmush.. There are dolmushes which
operate all night long, especially on the weekends

Tram: Trams are new and very convinient in the touristic
areas. The destination writes in front of the tram and you
also buy the ticket beforehand. There are ticket offices at
the tram stops. It costs 1.3 YTL. You can simply buy your
ticket and travel short distances in convinience. Some
trams also go underground and some of them have
air-cons.

Subway(metro): The "Istanbul Metro" was opened in 2001
and it is very convinient if you want to see the downtown
and commercial centers. You can purchase the ticket upon
entrance of the metro. It costs 1.3 YTL. It operates
between Taksim and 4 Levent, 6 stations as Taksim -
Osmanbey Sisli - Gayrettepe - Levent - 4 Levent.

Taxi: The taxi fee is determined by a taxi-meter.
Its starting fee is 1.3 YTL between 6:00 a.m and 11:59 p.m.
The night tariff starts from 2.0 YTL and 50% more
expensive. There is usually no air-con in taxis. The taxi
driver may probably not understand English, you'd better
write your destination on a piece of paper or ask a Turkish
person to write the necessary words for the cab driver.
It's customary to round the meter amount as a tip. Be
careful about your money calculation and seem as if you
already know the route. The way from the airport to the
city center takes about 20 minutes under normal traffic
conditions, so arrange a transfer before you come,
especially if you arrive at night. The driver may not
understand you or he may not find your hotel. It's always
more convinient to arrange an airport-hotel transfer in
Istanbul.

Rent-a car or limousine service: Rent-a car is
reasonable buy may ruin your trip. Istanbul has a big
traffic problem so you can rent a car when you want to see
neighboring towns etc. Limousine service is given by
various travel agencies and Limo Services.

As of January 2005, Turkish Lira omitted 6 zeros from
the currency and the Lira will be called "Turkish New
Lira". Therefore 20 million TL is 20 YTL(new lira)

The Coins

(5 kurus)

(10 kurus)

(25 kurus)

50 kurus

1 YTL

The Bills

1 YTL. in pink and blue color,roughly equal to 80
cents.

5 YTL.in yellow-beige note. Approximately equal to 3.85
USD .

10 YTL. in reddish color. Approximately equal to 8
USD

20 YTL in green color (20 YTL)

50 YTL looks like a 50 EURO, orange in color.

100 YTL is blue-dark blue color.

If you want to exchange your currency, there are little
shops where you can change money.There is an electronic
board where you can see the currencies and their
TL.equivalent. Most of the shops, restaurants do accept
foreign money, especially USD or EUR in Istanbul.

If you wonder about SHOPPING, you should know where
the good place to buy things and most importantly, what to
buy. Turkey is a good place for leather, jewellry and of
course carpets. Turkish Carpets are world-famous and unique
examples of art. Traditional nomadic Turkic life influenced
the patterns and designs of the rugs. For small souvenirs,
The GRAND BAZAAR can be considered as a heaven. Even if you
do not have the intention to buy anything, it's a MUST
place to be seen.

Turkish Cuisine is of a great variety, a mixture of
western and eastern cuisines with the flavor of unique
Ottoman Cuisine. It can simply be categorized as;

Soups(Corba)

Cold appetizers(Meze)

Hot appetizers(Ara sicak)

Main Course(Ana yemek)

Vegetables cooked in olive oil(Zeytinyagli)

Pilafs(Pilav)

Deserts(tatli)

Fruit Mix(meyve)

Soft Drinks

Soups: To begin with, soups do come first. They are
very important in Turkish Cuisine. The soups are usually
made of chicken juice by adding different things,i.e
tomatoes,lentil,rice,yoghurt, eggs and flour. The most
famous soups of traditional Ottoman Cuisine are Dugun
Corbasi(Wedding Day Soup), Iskembe Corbasi(Tripe Soup eaten
with garlic juice and vinegar), Mercimek Corbasi(Red Lentil
Soup) and Yayla Corbasi(Yoghurt and rice with dried mint).
If the soups do not contain chicken or meat juice, they are
deemed to be 'tasteless'...

Hot Appetizers: The hot starters are usually
pastries which are called as Boerek. Boereks are of various
types; i.e pastry which is made of different, thin dough
layers stuffed with ground meat or cheese,cooked in oven or
pastry made of two thin dough layers with cheese or ground
meat inside, fried in sunflower oil. With boreks, potato or
cheese croquettes may be served. The most famous type of
borek is called Su Boerek(Thin dough layers shock-boiled in
water). Other hot appetizers are Patlican Kizartma (fried
eggplants), Kabak Kizartma (fried zucchinis) and fried
mussles or calamares.

Main Courses: The main courses usually include meat,
mainly lamb and veal. Sometimes chicken is used for some
recipies. The meat is accompanied with eggplants, zucchini
or potatoes,either smashed or french-fried. The most famous
main course is called Doner Kebab(similar to Gyro) and
second famous is Shis-Kebab(small pieces of lamb or veal
grilled). Other famous main courses are Hunkar Begendi(lamb
served on eggplant pureé), Islim Kebab(lamb served in
sliced eggplant), or Tandir(very soft lamb grilled) and
Manti(Turkish Style Ravioli with garlic yoghurt and
red-pepper butter sauce). With them, Ayran(Yoghurt mixed
with water and salt) may be served..

Vegetables cooked in olive oil:Turkey is one of the
biggest olive and olive oil producers of the world.
Therefore, food cooked in olive oil is an indispensible
part of our cuisine. The main olive oil dishes are
Zeytinyagli Yesil Fasulye(String Beans in Olive Oil), Imam
Bayildi(eggplant cut in from the middle, stuffed with onion
and green pepper, served cold), Zeytinyagli Kuru
Fasulye(Beans in olive oil), Zeytinyagli Enginar(Artichoke
cooked with pieces of potatoes,carrots and peas).

Desserts:The desserts can be roughly divided into
three,desserts made of milk, desserts made of
pastry+syrups, desserts made of fruits and nuts...

Desserts with pastry and syrup:The famous ones are
Baklava(very thin layers of buttered pastry filled with
pistachio or walnuts,at least 20 layers),baked first in the
oven, then cold syrup is added), Kadayif(pastry resembling
human hair,put into the tray,added butter and walnut,cooked
like baklava), Kunefe is a southeastern(Antakya) specialty,
instead of walnuts, special Antakya cheese is put inside),
Sekerpare(Piece of sugar) (is baked in the oven as a round
cookie,nut is put on the top, and syrup is added.)

Desserts with fruit and nuts: The most famous one of
this type is Asure which is a sacred desert. It's believed
that after the disasterous storm in Mt.Agri of Turkey, the
people in Noah's Ark, had to cook a strange food to survive
by adding everything aboard, dried figs,apricots, raisins,
walnut, chickpeas, white beans, rice, wheat and sugar. It's
cooked still the same way by putting cinnamon on the top.
The others are Ayva Tatlisi(Quince Dessert), quince boiled
with sugar, after color turns to be red, syrup and cream is
put on the top), Incir Tatlisi(Fig Dessert), dried figs are
boiled in syrup,with cream and walnut toppings.

Fish Restaurants: If Turkey is surrounded by three
seas and Istanbul is on the shore of Sea of Marmara, how
about the fish restaurants? Fish restaurants are of a
special style,once you go to have fish, you sit at the
table for 1-2 hours and enjoy your meal very slowly by
sipping your Raki. Raki contains 45% alcohol, it is quite
strong. 1/3 of a typical raki glass is filled with raki,
the rest is complemented with cold water,added ice if
desired. The water-like liquid; when water is added,
suddenly turns out white,a milk-like thing. It's often
called "The Lion's Milk" by the Turkish. Raki is made of
grapes and it's a non-fermented drink. It should be drunk
very slowly with food, therefore the culture in the fish
restaurants has developed...

In the fish restaurants, the food comes as if eating
is a ritual, not an easy and quick thing. Cold appetizers,
like white cheese, melon, beans in olive oil or shrimp do
come first. After having some from each of them and
starting sipping your "raki", comes the hot appetizers,
like boreks or fish balls with a big bowl of fresh seasonal
salad. Finally while you are enjoying the appetizers, your
fish gets ready and you enjoy the most delicious part of
your ritual. Finally you enjoy a light dessert or fresh
fruits before putting an end to this pleasure. You waive
you hand to the chief waiter who knows you for long years
and go back home happily and relaxed... Restaurants

General

Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the
west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Iran and the Nakhichevan exclave
of Azerbaijan to the east, and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. In
addition, it borders the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean Sea to the
west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey also contains the Sea
of Marmara that is used by geographers to mark the border between Europe
and Asia, thus making the country transcontinental.

The region comprising modern Turkey has seen the birth of major
civilisations including the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Owing to its
strategic location at the intersect of two continents, Turkey's culture is
a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition, often described as a
bridge between the two civilisations. With a powerful regional presence
from the Adriatic to China in the Eurasian landbelt between Russia and
India, Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance.

Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose
political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of
World War I. Since then, Turkey has increasingly integrated with the West
while continuing to foster relations with the Eastern world. It is a
founding member of the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a member state of
the Council of Europe since 1949, and of NATO since 1952. Since 2005,
Turkey is in accession negotiations with the European Union, having been an
associate member since 1963. Turkey is also a member of the G20 which
brings together the 20 largest economies of the world.

The name for Turkey in the Turkish language, Türkiye, subdivides into
two words: Türk, which means "strong" in Old Turkic and usually signifying
the inhabitants of Turkey or a member of the Turkish or Turkic peoples, a
later form of "tu-kin", name given by the Chinese to the people living
south of the Altay Mountains of Central Asia as early as 177 BC; and the
abstract suffix -iye, which means "owner" or "related to". The first
recorded use of the term "Türk" or "Türük" as an autonym is attested in the
Orkhon inscriptions of the Göktürks (Sky Turks) of Central Asia (c. 8th
century CE). The English word "Turkey" is derived from the Medieval Latin
"Turchia" (c. 1369).

History

Antiquity

Portion of the legendary walls of Troy (VII),
identified as the site of the Trojan War, (ca. 1200 BCE)The Anatolian
peninsula (also called Asia Minor), comprising most of modern Turkey, is
one of the oldest continually inhabited regions in the world due to its
location at the intersection of Asia and Europe. The earliest Neolithic
settlements such as Çatalhöyük (Pottery Neolithic), Çayönü (Pre-Pottery
Neolithic A to Pottery Neolithic), Nevali Cori (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B),
Hacilar (Pottery Neolithic), Göbekli Tepe (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A) and
Mersin are considered to be among the earliest human settlements in the
world. The settlement of Troy starts in the Neolithic and continues into
the Iron Age. Through recorded history, Anatolians have spoken
Indo-European, Semitic and Kartvelian languages, as well as many languages
of uncertain affiliation. In fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European
Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the
hypothetical center from which the Indo-European languages have
radiated.

The Celsus Library in Ephesus, dating from 135 CEThe first major empire
in the area was that of the Hittites, from the 18th through the 13th
century BCE. Subsequently, the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, achieved
ascendancy until their kingdom was destroyed by the Cimmerians in the 7th
century BCE. The most powerful of Phrygia's successor states were Lydia,
Caria and Lycia. The Lydians and Lycians spoke languages that were
fundamentally Indo-European, but both languages had acquired
non-Indo-European elements prior to the Hittite and Hellenic periods.

Western Anatolia, which came to be known as Ionia, was meanwhile settled by
the Ionians, one of the ancient Greek peoples. The entire area was
conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th and 5th centuries
and later fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BCE. Anatolia was subsequently
divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms (including Bithynia,
Cappadocia, Pergamum, and Pontus), all of which had succumbed to Rome by
the mid-1st century BCE. In 324 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine I chose
Byzantium to be the new capital of the Roman Empire, renaming it
Constantinople (now İstanbul). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
it became the capital of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.

Turks and the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (ca. 1680)The House of Seljuk
was a branch of the Kinik Oğuz Turks who in the 9th century lived on the
periphery of the Muslim world, north of the Caspian and Aral seas in the
Yabghu Khaganate of the Oğuz confederacy In the 10th century, the Seljuks
migrated from their ancestral homelands into the eastern Anatolian regions
that had been an area of settlement for Oğuz Turkic tribes since the end of
the first millennium.

The Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque) is one of the most famous
architectural legacies of the Ottoman EmpireFollowing their victory over
the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Turks began to
abandon their nomadic roots in favour of a permanent role in Anatolia,
bringing rise to the Seljuk Empire. The empire was not to last however, by
1243 the Seljuk armies were defeated by the Mongols and the power of the
empire slowly disintegrated. In its wake, one of the Turkish principalities
governed by Osman I was to evolve into the Ottoman Empire, thus filling the
void left by the collapsed Seljuks and Byzantines.

The Ottoman Empire interacted with both Eastern and Western cultures
throughout its 623-year history. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was
among the world's most powerful political entities, often locking horns
with the powers of eastern Europe in its steady advance through the Balkans
and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following
years of decline, the Ottoman Empire entered the World War I through the
Ottoman-German Alliance in 1914 - a war in which it was ultimately
defeated. After the war, the victorious Allied Powers sought the
dismemberment of the Ottoman state through the Treaty of Sèvres.

Republican era

The first Grand National Assembly of the modern Republic of
Turkey, during its inauguration in 1920 in AnkaraThe occupation of İstanbul
and İzmir by the Allies in the aftermath of World War I prompted the
establishment of the Turkish national movement. Under the leadership
Mustafa Kemal Pasha, a military commander who had distinguished himself
during the Battle of Gallipoli, the Turkish War of Independence was waged
with the aim of revoking the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres. By September
18, 1922, the occupying armies were repelled and the country saw the birth
of the new Turkish state. On November 1, 1922, the newly founded parliament
formally abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of Ottoman rule.
The Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 led to the international recognization of
the sovereignty of the newly formed "Republic of Turkey" as the successor
state of the Ottoman Empire, and the republic was officially proclaimed on
October 29, 1923, in the new capital of Ankara.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - Founder and first President of the Republic of
TurkeyKemal Pasha became the republic's first president and subsequently
introduced many radical reforms with the aim of founding a new secular
republic from the remnants of its Ottoman past. According to the Law on
Family Names, the Turkish parliament presented Mustafa Kemal with the
honorific name "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks) in 1934.

Turkey entered World War II on the side of the Allies in the later
stages of the war as a ceremonial gesture and became a charter member of
the United Nations in 1945.[4] Difficulties faced by Greece after the war
in quelling a communist rebellion, along with demands by the Soviet Union
for military bases in the Turkish Straits, prompted the United States to
declare the Truman Doctrine in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American
intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece, and resulted in
large scale US military and economic support.

After participating with United Nations forces in the Korean conflict,
Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952,
becoming a bulwark against Soviet expansion into the Mediterrenean.
Following a decade of intercommunal violence on the island of Cyprus and
the subsequent Athens-inspired coup, Turkey intervened militarily,
resulting in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus recognised
only by Turkey.

Following the end of the single party period in 1945, the multi-party
period witnessed tensions over the following decades, and the period
between the Sixties and the Eighties was particularly marked by periods of
political instability that resulted in a number of military coups d'états
in 1960, 1971, 1980 and a post-modern coup d'état in 1997. The
liberalization of the Turkish economy that started in the 1980s changed the
landscape of the country, with successive periods of high growth and crises
punctuating the following decades.

Government and politics

The Grand
Chamber of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in the capital,
AnkaraTurkey is a parliamentary representative democracy. Since its
foundation as a Republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition
of secularism.[26] Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the
country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes
Turkey as a unitary centralized state. The current constitution was
ratified by referendum in 1982 and has been amended numerous times in
recent years.

The head of State is the President of the Republic and has a largely
ceremonial role. The president is elected for a seven-year term by the
parliament but is not required to be one of its members. The current
President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, was elected on May 16 2000, after having
served as the President of the Constitutional Court. Executive power is
exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers that make up
the government, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral
parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is
independent of the executive and the legislature, and the Constitutional
Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the
constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for
administrative cases, and High Court of Appeals for all others.

The Prime Minister is generally the head of the party that has won the
elections and is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in
his government. The current Prime Minister is the former mayor of İstanbul,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose Islamic conservative AKP won an absolute
majority of parliamentary seats in the 2002 general elections, organized in
the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2001, with 34% of the suffrage.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Ministers have to be members of the
parliament, but in most cases they are (one notable exception was Kemal
Derviş, who was the Minister of Finance following the financial crisis of
2001; he is currently the president of the UN Development Programme).

There are 550 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term
by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral
districts which represent the 81 administrative provinces of Turkey
(İstanbul is divided into three electoral districts whereas Ankara and
İzmir are divided into two each because of their large populations). To
avoid a hung parliament and its excessive political fragmentation, only
parties that win at least 10% of the votes cast in a national parliamentary
election gain the right to representation in the parliament. As a result of
this threshold, only two parties were able to obtain that right during the
last elections.Independent candidates may run, however they must also win
at least 10% of the vote in their circonscription to be elected.Universal
suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and
every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote.
As of 2004, there were 50 registered political parties in the country,
whose ideologies range from the far-left to the far-right.The
Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties
that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence
altogether.

The military has traditionally been a politically powerful institution,
considered as the guardians of Atatürk's Republic. The protection of the
Turkish Constitution and the unity of the country is given by law to the
Turkish Armed Forces and it therefore plays a formal political role via the
National Security Council (NSC) as the guardian of the secular, unitary
nature of the republic and the reforms of Atatürk. Through the NSC, the
army contributes to recommendations for defense policy against any threat
to the country, including those pertaining to ethnic separatism or
religious extremism. In recent years, reforms led to efforts to extinguish
the military's constitutional responsibilities, under the program of
compliance with the EU demands and an increased civilian presence on the
NSC. Despite its perceived alleged influence in civilian affairs, the
military owns strong unequivocal support from the nation and is considered
to be the country's most trusted institution.

Foreign
relations

Roosevelt, İnönü and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference on
December 4–December 6, 1943Main articles: Foreign relations of Turkey and
Accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey's main political, economic
and military relations have remained rooted within the West since the
foundation of the republic. Turkey has manifested an Atlantist approach in
many regional and international affairs since the Second Cairo Conference,
its participation in the Korean War, and its subsequent adhesion to NATO in
1952. It remained a bulwark against the Eastern bloc during the Cold War,
and has participated in many NATO-led peacekeeping missions since the fall
of the Berlin Wall. For many historical and cultural reasons, this has led
to a certain mix of trends in Turkey's foreign policy. Turkey is the only
OIC member which is also a member of NATO; and its relations with Israel
constitute one of the key partnerships in the Middle East.

The European Union remains Turkey's biggest trading partner and the
presence of a well-established Turkish diaspora in Europe has contributed
to the development of extensive relations between the two parties over the
years. Turkey became a member of the Council of Europe in 1949, applied for
associate membership of the EEC (predecessor of the EU) in 1959 and became
an associate member in 1963. After decades of political negotiations,
Turkey applied for full membership of the EEC in 1987, reached a Customs
Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and has officially begun accession
negotiations on October 3, 2005. It is believed that the accession process
will take at least 15 years because of Turkey's size and the depth of
disagreements over certain issues.

Historically, relations with neighbouring Greece have known periods of
tension. The disputes over the air and sea boundaries of the Aegean Sea
remain one of the main issues of disagreement between the two
neighbours.[40] Nonetheless, following the consecutive earthquakes of 1999
in Turkey and Greece, and the prompt response of aid and rescue teams from
both sides, the two nations have entered a much more positive period in
their relations, with Greece actively supporting Turkey's candidacy to
enter the European Union. South of Turkey, tensions caused by the
long-lasting division of the island of Cyprus has recently become one of
the main points of contention in Turkey's accession negotiations with the
EU since Turkey has been refusing to open its ports to Republic of Cyprus
traffic.

Since the end of the Cold War, Turkey has actively been building strong
relations with former Communist countries in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia, and this has concretized in many reciprocal investments and migratory
currents between these states and Turkey, however Turkey's relations with
neighbouring Armenia are still tense due to the emotions surrounding the
events of 1915–17 as well as the ongoing stalemate in Nagorno-Karabakh
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Turkic-speaking neighbour and ally of
Turkey. The Turkish government rejects the notion that the actions by the
Ottoman Young Turks that had led to the forced mass evacuation and related
deaths of an estimated hundreds of thousands up to 1.5 million Armenians,
in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, constituted a
genocide and instead states the deaths were a result of inter-ethnic
strife, disease and famine. Most Western scholars however agree with the
genocide thesis. Owing to its secular traditions, Turkey has always viewed
suspiciously certain countries in the region and this has caused tensions
in the past, particularly with its largest neighbour, Iran.

Even though Turkey participated in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in
Afghanistan after September 11, the Iraq war faced strong domestic
opposition in Turkey. A government motion which would have allowed U.S.
troops to attack Iraq from Turkey's south-eastern border couldn't reach the
absolute majority of 276 votes needed for its adoption in the Turkish
Parliament; the final tally being 264 votes for and 250 against. This led
to a cooling in relations between the U.S. and Turkey and fears that they
might have been damaged as a result of the situation in Iraq.[49] Turkey is
particularly cautious about an independent Kurdish state arising from a
destabilised Iraq; it has previously fought an insurgent war on its own
soil, in which an estimated 37,000 people lost their lives, against the PKK
(listed as a terrorist organization by a number of states and
organisations, including the USA and the EU).This led the Turkish
government to put pressure on the U.S. to clamp down on insurgent training
camps in northern Iraq, without much success.

Military

TAI-built F-16 fighter jets belonging to various Turkish Air Force
squadronsMain articles: Turkish Armed Forces and Conscription in Turkey The
Turkish Armed Forces consists of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The
Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard operate as parts of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs in peacetime; whereas they are subordinated to the Army
and Navy Commands respectively in wartime, during which they have both
internal law enforcement and military functions.

The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President, and he is
responsible to the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers is responsible
to the parliament for matters of national security and the adequate
preparation of the armed forces to defend the country. However, the
authority to declare war and to deploy the Turkish Armed Forces to foreign
countries or to allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey rests
solely with the parliament.[52] The actual Commander of the armed forces is
the Chief of the General Staff General Yaşar Büyükanıt who succeeded
General Hilmi Özkök on August 26, 2006.

F-247 TCG KemalReis is a SalihReis class frigate of the Turkish NavyThe
Turkish Armed Forces is the second largest standing armed force in NATO,
after the United States Armed Forces, with a combined strength of 1,043,550
uniformed personnel serving in its five branches. Every fit heterosexual
male Turkish citizen is required to serve in the military for time periods
ranging from one to fifteen months, depending on his education and job
location (homosexuals have the right to be exempt, if they request).

In 1998, Turkey announced a modernization programme worth some $31
billion over a period of ten years in varying projects including tanks,
helicopters and assault rifles. Turkey is also a level three contributor to
the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, gaining an opportunity to develop
and influence the creation of the next generation fighter spearheaded by
the United States.

In addition to its participation in the Korean War, Turkey has
maintained forces in international missions under the United Nations and
NATO since 1950, including peacekeeping missions, various missions in the
former Yugoslavia, and support to coalition forces in the First Gulf War.
Turkey maintains 36,000 troops in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
and has had troops deployed in Afghanistan as part of the U.S.
stabilization force and the UN-authorized, NATO-commanded International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since 2001. In 2006, the Turkish
parliament deployed a peacekeeping force of Navy patrol vessels and around
700 ground troops as part of an expanded United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) in wake of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

Administrative divisions

The territory of Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for
administrative purposes. In turn, each province is divided into districts,
for a total of 923 districts. Provinces usually bear the same name as their
provincial capitals, also called the central district; exceptions to this
are the provinces of Hatay (capital: Antakya), Kocaeli (capital: İzmit) and
Sakarya (capital: Adapazarı). Provinces with the largest populations are
the provinces of İstanbul (+10 million), Ankara (+4 million), İzmir (+3.4
million), Konya (+2.2 million), Bursa (+2.1 million) and Adana (+1.85
million).

The provinces are organized into 7 regions for census purposes, however
they do not represent an administrative structure.

The capital city of Turkey is Ankara; however, the biggest city and the
pre-Republican capital of İstanbul is the financial, economic and cultural
heart of the country. Other important cities include İzmir, Bursa, Adana,
Trabzon, Malatya, Gaziantep, Erzurum, Kayseri, İzmit, Konya, Mersin,
Eskişehir, Diyarbakır, Antalya and Samsun. An estimated 67% of Turkey's
population live in urban centers. In all, 12 cities have populations that
exceed 500,000 and 48 cities have more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Major cities:

İstanbul - 9,085,599

Ankara - 3,540,522

İzmir - 2,732,669

Bursa - 1,630,940

Adana - 1,397,853

Konya - 1,294,817

Gaziantep - 1,009,126

Antalya - 936,330

(Population figures are given according to the 2000 census)

Geography and climate

Resort town of Fethiye in the Muğla Province, on the Mediterranean
coastlineThe territory of Turkey is more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi)
long and 800 km (500 mi) wide, giving it a roughly rectangular shape.
Turkey's area, inclusive of lakes, occupies 779,452 square kilometers (km²)
(300,948 mi²), of which 755,688 km² (291,773 mi²) are in Southwest Asia and
23,764 km² (9,174 mi²) in Europe, thus making Turkey a transcontinental
country. Turkey's size makes it the world's 37th-largest country (after
Mozambique). It is somewhat bigger than Chile or the U.S. state of Texas.
Turkey is encircled by seas on three sides: Aegean Sea to the west, the
Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey also
contains the Sea of Marmara in the northwest.

The European section of Turkey, in the northwest, is Eastern Thrace, and
forms the borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria. The Asian part of the
country, Anatolia (also called the Asia Minor), consists of a high central
plateau with narrow coastal plains, in between the Köroğlu and East-Black
Sea mountain range to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south.
Eastern Turkey has a more mountainous landscape, and is home to the sources
of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and Aras, and contains Lake Van and
Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest point at 5,165 m (16,946 ft).

Turkey is geographically divided into seven regions: Marmara, Aegean,
Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and
the Mediterranean. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the
Black Sea resembles a long, narrow belt. This region comprises
approximately one-sixth of Turkey's total land area. As a general trend,
the inland Anatolian plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses
eastward.

Mount Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey at 5,165 m and is located in
the Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia regionTurkey's varied landscapes
are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped the region over
thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent
earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. The Bosporus and the
Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey
that led to the creation of the Black Sea. There is an earthquake fault
line across the north of the country from west to east.

The climate is a Mediterranean temperate climate, with hot, dry summers
and mild, wet and cold winters, though conditions can be much harsher in
the more arid interior. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean
influences from extending inland, giving the interior of Turkey a
continental climate with distinct seasons. The central Anatolian Plateau is
much more subject to extremes than are the coastal areas. Winters on the
plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of −30 °C to −40 °C (−22 °F to
-40 °F) can occur in the mountainous areas in the east, and snow may lie on
the ground 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average
below 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures above 30 °C
(86 °F). Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimeters (mm) (15
inches (in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest
regions are the Konya plain and the Malatya plain, where annual rainfall
frequently is less than 300 mm (12 in). May is generally the wettest month
whereas July and August are the most dry.

Economy

Aerial view of Levent business district in İstanbul Mediterranean
coastline between the resort towns of Kemer and Antalya on the Turkish
RivieraMain articles: Economy of Turkey and Economic history of Turkey For
most of its republican history, Turkey has adhered to a quasi-statist
approach, with strict government controls over private sector
participation, foreign trade, and foreign direct investment. However,
during the 1980s, Turkey began a series of reforms, initiated by Prime
Minister Turgut Özal and designed to shift the economy from a statist,
insulated system to a more private-sector, market-based model.The reforms
spurred rapid growth, but this growth was punctuated by sharp recessions
and financial crises in 1994, 1999 (following the earthquake of that
year),and 2001, resulting in an average of 4% GDP growth per annum between
1981 and 2003. Lack of additional reforms, combined with large and growing
public sector deficits and widespread corruption resulted in high
inflation, a weak banking sector and increased macroeconomic
volatility.

Since the economic crisis of 2001 and the reforms initiated by the
finance minister of the time, Kemal Derviş, the inflation has fallen to
single-digit numbers, investor confidence and foreign investment have
soared while unemployment has fallen. Turkey has gradually opened up its
markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign
trade and investment and the privatisation of publicly owned industries and
the liberalisation of many sectors to private and foreign participation has
continued amid political debate.

The GDP growth rate for 2005 was 7.4%,thus making Turkey one of the
fastest growing economies in the world. Turkey's GDP ranks 17th in the
world and Turkey is a member of G20 which brings together the 20 most
industrialized countries of the globe. Turkey's economy is no longer
dominated by traditional agricultural activities in the rural areas, but
more so by a highly dynamic industrial complex in the major cities, mostly
concentrated in the western provinces of the country, along with a
developed services sector. The agricultural sector accounts for 11.9% of
GDP, whereas industrial and service sectors make up 23.7% and 64.5%,
respectively. The tourism sector has experienced rapid growth in the last
twenty years, and constitutes an important part of the economy. In 2005,
there were 24,124,501 visitors to the country, who contributed 18.2 billion
USD to Turkey's revenues. Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are
construction, automotive industry, electronics and textiles.

The currency of Turkey is the New Turkish Lira (Yeni Türk Lirası - YTL)In
recent years, the chronically high inflation has been brought under control
and this has led to the launch of a new currency to cement the acquis of
the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy. On
January 1, 2005, the Turkish Lira was replaced by the New Turkish Lira by
dropping off six zeroes (1 NTL= 1,000,000 TL). As a result of continuing
economic reforms, the inflation has dropped to 8.2% in 2005, and the
unemployment rate to 10.3%.[76] With a per capita GDP (Nominal) of 5,062
USD, Turkey ranked 64th in the world in 2005. In 2004, it was estimated
that 46.2% of total disposable income was received by the top 20% income
earners, whilst the lowest 20% received 6%.

Turkey's main trading partners are
the European Union (52% of exports and 42% of imports as of 2005), United
States, Russia and Japan. Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union
with the European Union, signed in 1995, to increase its industrial
production destined for exports, while at the same time benefiting from
EU-origin foreign investment into the country. In 2005, exports amounted to
73.5 billion USD while the imports stood at 116.8 billion USD, with
increases of 16.3% and 19.7% compared to 2004, respectively. For 2006, the
exports amounted to 85.8 billion USD, representing an increase of 16,8%
over 2005.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), Turkey
succeeded in attracting 8.5 billion USD in FDI in 2005 and is expected to
attract a higher figure in 2006. A series of large privatizations, the
stability fostered by the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations,
strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail,
and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to a rise in foreign
investment.

Demographics

İstiklal Avenue, one of the busiest pedestrian ways in Turkey, and
the tram line running between Taksim Square and Tünel in İstanbulAs of
2005, the population of Turkey stood at 72.6 million with a growth rate of
1.5% per annum. The Turkish population is relatively young with 25.5%
falling within the 0-15 age bracket. According to statistics released by
the government in 2005, life expectancy stands at 68.9 years for men and
73.8 years for women, for an overall average of 71.3 years for the populace
as a whole.

Education is compulsory and free from ages 6 to 15. The literacy rate is
95.3% for men and 79.6% for women, for an overall average of 87.4%. This
low figure is mainly due to prevailing feudal attitudes against women in
the Arab and Kurdish inhabited southeastern provinces of the country.

Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as anyone that
is "bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship"; therefore,
the legal use of the term "Turkish" as a citizen of Turkey is different
from the ethnic definition. However, the majority of the Turkish population
are of Turkish ethnicity. Other major ethnic groups include the Kurds,
Circassians, Roma, Arabs and the three officially-recognized minorities
(per the treaty of Lausanne) of Greeks, Armenians and Jews. The largest
non-Turkic ethnicity is the Kurds, a distinct ethnic group traditionally
concentrated in the southeast of the country. Minorities other than the
three official ones do not have any special group privileges, and while the
term "minority" itself remains a sensitive issue in Turkey, it is to be
noted that the degree of assimilation within various ethnic groups outside
the recognized minorities is high, with the following generations adding to
the melting-pot of the Turkish main body. Within that main body, certain
distinctions based on diverse Turkic origins could be made as well.
Reliable data on the exact ethnic repartition of the population is not
available since the Turkish census figures do not include ethnic or racial
figures.

Whirling Dervishes perform at the Mevlevi Museum in Konya, Central
Anatolia regionDue to a demand for an increased labour force in post-World
War II Europe, many Turkish citizens emigrated to Western Europe
(particularly West Germany), contributing to the creation of a significant
diaspora. Recently, Turkey has also become a destination for numerous
immigrants, especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the consequent
increase of freedom of movement in the region. These immigrants generally
migrate from the former Soviet-bloc countries, as well as neighbouring
Muslim states, either to settle and work in Turkey or to continue their
journey towards the European Union.

Turkish is the sole official language throughout Turkey. Reliable
figures for the linguistic repartition of the populace are not available
for reasons similar to those cited above. Nevertheless, the public
broadcaster TRT broadcasts programmes in local languages and dialects of
Arabic, Bosnian, Circassian and Kurdish a few hours a week.

Nominally, 99.0% of the Turkish population is Muslim, of whom a majority
belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. A sizeable minority of the population
is affiliated with the Alevi sect. The remainder of the population belongs
to other beliefs, particularly Christian denominations (Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Apostolic, Syriac Orthodox), Judaism, Yezidism and Atheism.

There is a strong tradition of secularism in Turkey. Even though the
state has no official religion nor promotes any, it actively monitors the
area between the religions. The constitution recognises freedom of religion
for individuals whereas religious communities are placed under the
protection of the state, but the constitution explicitly states that they
cannot become involved in the political process (by forming a religious
party for instance) or establish faith-based schools. No party can claim
that it represents a form of religious belief; neverheless, religious
sensibilities are generally represented through conservative parties.[26]
Turkey prohibits by law the wearing of religious headcover and
theo-political symbolic garments for both genders in government buildings,
schools, and universities; a law upheld by the Grand Chamber of the
European Court of Human Rights as "legitimate" in Leyla Şahin v. Turkey on
November 10, 2005.

Culture

Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature
Traditional waterfront houses from the Ottoman period along the Bosporus in
İstanbul The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in İstanbul during the 2005 UEFA
Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool FCTurkey has a very
diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of the Oğuz Turkic,
Ottoman, Western as well as Islamic cultures and traditions. This mix is a
result of the encounter of Turks and their culture with those of the
peoples who were in their path during their migration from Central Asia to
the West. As Turkey successfully transformed from the religion-based former
Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with a very strong separation of
state and religion, an increase in the methods of artistic expression
followed. During the first years of the republic, the government invested a
large amount of resources into the fine arts, such as museums, theatres,
and architecture. Because of different historical factors playing an
important role in defining the modern Turkish identity, Turkish culture is
a product of efforts to be "modern" and Western, combined with the
necessity felt to maintain traditional religious and historical values.

Turkish music and literature form great examples of such a mix of
cultural influences. Many schools of music are popular throughout Turkey,
from "arabesque" to hip-hop genres, as a result of the interaction between
the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world along with Europe, and thus
contributing to a blend of Central Asian Turkic, Islamic and European
traditions in modern-day Turkish music. Turkish literature was heavily
influenced by Arabic and, especially, Persian literature during most of the
Ottoman era, though towards the end of the Ottoman Empire the effect of
both Turkish folk and Western literary traditions became increasingly felt.
The mix of cultural influences is dramatized, for example, in the form of
the "new symbols [of] the clash and interlacing of cultures" enacted in the
work of Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Architectural elements found in Turkey are also testaments to the unique
mix of traditions that have influenced the region over the centuries. In
addition to the traditional Byzantine elements present in numerous parts of
Turkey, many artifacts of the later Ottoman architecture, with its
exquisite blend of local and Islamic traditions, are to be found throughout
the country, as well as in many former territories of the Ottoman Empire.
Since the 18th century, Turkish architecture has been increasingly
influenced by Western styles and this can be particularly seen in Istanbul
where buildings like the Blue Mosque and the Dolmabahçe Palace are
juxtaposed next to numerous modern skyscrapers, all of them representing
different traditions.

The most popular sport in Turkey by far is football, with certain
professional and national matches drawing tens of millions of viewers on
television.[98] Nevertheless, other sports such as basketball and motor
sports (following the inclusion of İstanbul Park on the Formula 1 racing
calendar) have also become popular recently. The traditional Turkish
national sport has been the Yağlı güreş (Oiled Wrestling) since the Ottoman
times.